Monster High in Retrospect

The monster high doll line has gone through many changes over the years but right now the most prevalent to fans is the new line, generation three. The first generation of monster high dolls is loved by older and younger fans alike but the newest generation of dolls has created a very large divide in the fandom. Are the new dolls ugly or not? Many fans are happy with the changes that have been made to the beloved characters including more diversity to the main cast of monsters. Frankie Stein is now canonically non-binary and uses a prosthetic leg, The fan favorite Draculaura Fang is now southeast asian, Clawdeen Wolf is Afro-Latina, and Lagoona Blue is Latinx. Most of these dolls now also have more realistic body types and don’t look emaciated like the original first line of dolls. 

I feel that this change and show of representation will be amazing for the younger generations that the new television show is geared towards. But the older generation of fans that grew up with the original monster high dolls are not happy with these changes. One point these fans have made is that this new generation has “forced” diversity. These fans feel that many of these changes aren’t beneficial to the dolls themselves. Another point these fans make is that the new dolls have cheaper clothing and don’t have the same hair coloration they had in the first generation. One more point these heated fans make is that Lagoona Blue is no longer blue, Mattel made the decision to turn our favorite blue sea monster into a pink sea monster instead. 

Many fans are outright disturbed by this grave decision, and have even made petitions to change back Lagoona to her original skin color. At the same time many fans are happy with Lagoona’s new look! The original dolls had a tv show to go along with the doll line which expanded on the characters more than just having them as static dolls. With the new generation we also got a television show on nickelodeon. It has all the same characters as the first show but still fans are upset with the “new” animation style and how one of the main plot points is that Draculaura (a vampire) is now a witch. 

The fandom of Monster high is usually a very accepting and loving community, but these recent events have torn these fans apart. Hopefully in the near future these fans can gel together again when new episodes come out. These lovable dolls have the potential to shape the way kids act and feel and how they will grow up in our world. Any doll in general has the ability to do this, but I feel that kids seeing more realistic people and ethnicities can make kids feel more confident and loved.